This invention relates to an exhaust nozzle for a gas turbine engine. The invention has particular application in the field of variable area vectorable nozzles which have a rectangular flow path and outlet orifice.
Any exhaust nozzle which has a rectangular outlet orifice must be strong enough for the orifice shape to be maintained despite the loads exerted on it by the exhaust gases flowing through the nozzle. Many current designs either have to be very heavy in order to have the strength to maintain the rectangular shape, or suffer a loss of performance due to distortion of the outlet orifice. These problems are compounded when the nozzle is of variable outlet area and has flaps or cowls for vectoring the exhaust gases.